Poetry and Fiction by Christopher Guerin. The current sonnet sequence, working title "My Human Disguise," of ekphrastic poems, after paintings and other images (posted each Thursday), was begun February, 2011.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Narcissus in Rome (Caravaggio), Sonnet # 351

Some men are just reflections of themselves.
What the mirror shows them is all they are.
As the head moves, the unblinking eye delves
Into itself with an unthinking stare.
I knew a man bent to kiss his image,
Stopping just short, careful not to smudge
The glass or ripple the pool of oil sludge.
He saw the epitome of his Age.
When others dared to look into his glass,
He wasn't, he was -- it was hard to tell.
When they saw him, they saw themselves as well.
One day his image caught fire; flaming gas
Consumed itself and left a dull halo,
His semblance struggling to form from below.

About Me

I spent 26 years in the symphony orchestra business, 20 of them as President of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. I have two degrees in English Literature from Northern Illinois University. My lovely wife Ruth and my two daughters, Julia and Alice, are all talented artists.